FAQ

The following are frequently asked questions about the Ste-Mux plugin.

Questions

1. Will this plugin work with Bit Bar, Xbar, etc?

The plugin is intended to work with SwiftBar. It is tested with SwiftBar, but it has not been tested with other apps. However, there are several apps that share the same basic approach and structure as they share a common origin app (Bit Bar).

Therefore, the plugin may well work with other apps, but if those apps change their approach, the plugin will not necessarily be maintained to work with those other apps.

2. Can I add my own shell commands to the lists?

Yes, you can add your own shell commands. See Adding Custom Command Entries.

3. Could I add my own TMUX set up as a shell command?

You could, but there is built in support for adding TMUX set ups. They are effectively first class citizens for the plugin, and you can get more details in Adding Custom TMUX Entries.

4. What is 'TMUX'?

TMUX is an abbreviation of 'terminal multiplexer'. It allows you to put multiple terminal sessions in a single terminal window, and to wrap them in a process that you can detach from and leave them running in the background.

tmux is an incredibly powerful and flexible command line utility on Unix-style operating systems, and there are many great guides available online that will do it far more justice that an FAQ entry like this.

5. Where does the plugin name of 'Ste-Mux' come from?

The plugin was originally created to help manage tmux sessions that run Jekyll web servers in the background - so as not to leave terminal windows all over the place. The plugin was created by Stephen Millard (@sylumer), and in the part of the UK Stephen grew up, the name "Stephen" was typically shortened to "Ste" (after all there's no "V" in it, so "Steve" doesn't really work so well for this spelling). Since the plugin was "Stephen's TMUX manager", it was a short hop to shorten it to "Ste-Mux".

6. How can I force the plugin to refresh?

The filename of the plugin, by default, includes ".10s", which will instruct SwiftBar to update (i.e. run it again) the plugin every ten seconds.
You can select Ste-Mux > SwiftBar > Refresh All to refresh all SwiftBar plugins.
You can open the URL swiftbar://refreshplugin?name=ste-mux .
- Triggering this from an automation tool makes it handy when you are developing new entries in SwiftBar and are impatient.